


Origins of Captain Marvel

by ZeeMastermind



Series: Captain Marvel 1939 - 1945 [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (DC), DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Shazam - Freeform, WHIZ Comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-27 10:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12079269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeeMastermind/pseuds/ZeeMastermind
Summary: February 19, 1939: In a stable DCU, Captain Marvel first appears in 1939. How can Billy Batson deal with the beginnings of WWII while managing magical threats and a champion from 6000 years ago?





	1. The Historama

**FEBRUARY 19, 1939**

“6000 years have passed. And now… when the heroes with powers of ancient times have begun to walk the streets once more, I have found a champion.”

The wizard Shazam examined his historama closely. He willed it to display scenes from the life of young Billy Batson through its crystalline screen. Billy’s soul held all the qualities necessary for a successor.

Eight months ago, at age seven, the boy wandered through the streets on a brisk autumn morning. Another child, playing kickball with some friends, ran into the streets after their toy. A car was going too fast. It could not stop in time. Billy yanked the child to safety, as the car slid to a stop twenty feet past them. The boy was able to see his surroundings, and make a decision in time. He was worthy of the speed of Mercury.

Two years ago, at age six, Billy was kicked out of his uncle’s home, into a cold winter’s night. At first, he sat on the doorstop. He kept knocking on the door, waiting to be let in, as the cold seeped into his skin. Finally, he stood up, and began to walk. He walked until he made his way into the heart of the city, where he found shelter in a subway station. The boy was alone, but still braved the cold night to survive. He was worthy of the courage of Achilles.

Four months ago, at age seven, Billy finally saved up enough money from selling newspapers to buy a hot chocolate on Christmas Eve to go along with his usual can of soup dinner. However, another child, a young girl, also received hot chocolate from her mother. When the girl was reckless and spilled it, her mother was unable to afford another. Billy gave his own hot chocolate to the girl. Although starving, tired, and unsure of any profits tomorrow or the next day, Billy still placed others above his own desires, perhaps to a fault. Nevertheless, only a pure soul such as this could be worthy of the power of Zeus.

Billy has survived two harsh, midwestern winters on the streets, without a home, working when possible to have enough for maybe a can of soup at the end of the day. Fawcett City’s shelters continued to close, or overbook, and Billy continued to bear the weight of surviving outside rather than take a spot away from someone who needed it. For someone so young to do this, and survive, they must be worthy of the stamina of Atlas.

A year ago, at age seven, Billy found an old man bleeding and unconscious. He was not far outside his hiding spot in an abandoned subway station, but to get the man to safety, Billy had to drag him up an old staircase, and then for another half mile before he found anyone still awake in the middle of the night willing to help a stranger. This left him sore for over a week. He was worthy of the Strength of Hercules.

The wisdom of Solomon was a gamble at his age. Shazam had only found three others in the thousands of years of searching that were worthy of 5 of the 6 gods of magic. Billy showed he was worthy of the power of Zeus with his pure soul, which none of the other three had and few of any candidates had. Shazam saw nothing to indicate that Billy was worthy. Indeed, at times it seemed that Billy passed over wisdom in favor of benevolence. It is always hard to judge between youthful naivete of heroism and the deeper wisdom of the greater good. But there was nothing to see in Billy’s life showing him to be unworthy of Solomon’s wisdom, either.

Shazam looked to Billy’s immediate relatives. Both parents were renowned scholars until their untimely demise, and intelligence can run in families. Indeed, Billy’s twin sister Mary showed great aptitude in her studies, being at the top of her class. Her schooling also allowed her another advantage over her brother- she interacted with peers often, and was a good mediator. She was able to bring enemies together as friends, and was able to consider others’ perspectives at a level beyond her age. She was certainly worthy of the wisdom of Solomon. Perhaps Billy would be the same, if he were to enroll in school or at least interact with other children his age.

Shazam looked to see if Mary would have the other five aspects. Mary had all the right qualities of Speed, Courage, Power, and Strength- but did not have the tragedy or responsibilities that would make her worthy of Atlas. Similar to Billy, she was not seen to be unworthy, either. When their parents died, Mary found her way into the foster system, under the name of “Mary Primm” rather than “Mary Batson.” This was done through the meddling of Sarah Primm, the kindly sister of their parents’ murderer, who sought to protect the girl. Mary Primm was soon adopted by a Mr. and Mrs. Bromfield, compassionate parents who aided her in recovering from her parents’ death. But surviving the death of a loved one with the support of others does not make one worthy of Atlas. Atlas holds the world up on his own.

So now Shazam had two candidates. To choose either would be a risk. He could not be sure if Mary would be able to sustain herself through tough fights and personal loss, and the forces of evil were always clawing for a foothold on Earth. He could not be sure if Billy would be able to use proper judgement. Evil wears many faces, and Shazam had already lost one champion to the deceit of his own daughter, Blaze. Admittedly, Black Adam’s pride would have him succumb to the forces of darkness sooner or later, but perhaps with better judgement, he could have been guided-

But it was useless to think of what could be. Black Adam was sealed away now, and a rift between student and master grew into a bitter, vicious enmity. The world needed a new champion.

Both Mary and Billy were worthy of Zeus’s power. At the very least, they would be able to defend against the seven deadly enemies of man. They would not stray from the path of good. But they were both so young. Shazam could wait and see if either of them became worthy of a sixth god of magic, or perhaps he could intervene more directly.

To develop Mary’s stamina, Shazam would have to inflict personal tragedy and hardships, that would last for years. To develop Billy’s wisdom, Shazam would have to take a direct role in Billy’s education, and ensure he made lasting connections with others.

Shazam himself was a champion of the gods, once upon a time. He could not bear to destroy a child’s life. Thus, Billy was the proper candidate.

The old wizard summoned up a spirit familiar to Billy, to fetch the boy and bring him to the rock of eternity.

“You would let me see him again?” asked the ghost.

“Yes,” the wizard nodded, then rose from his chair. He placed a hand upon the spirit’s shoulder, made corporeal through magic. “But you cannot allow him to learn who you are. Not yet. To do so would confuse him, make him emotionally vulnerable. And with these new heroes and villains roaming the Earth, I fear that the champion must face great demons.”

The ghost nodded. “I won’t tell him. I want him to succeed. I’m so glad that someone’s finally going to help him.”

Shazam looked at the man in shock. “Young man, what I intend to do to the boy may be unforgivable. This child must hold back the monsters of the world, alone.”

“No, not alone. He has you. And from what I’ve seen, looking on from the other plane, you’re going to be his first friend in two years. Even if it’s out of necessity, I’m glad someone’s taking an interest. When I was alive, and raising Billy, I always wanted him to do great things, and to be a good man. I guess he’s just going to do it ten years early.”

“I don’t know what to say.” The wizard was 9000 years old. He didn’t learn new things very often. But if the boy was anything like his father, perhaps there was hope for the wisdom of Solomon. “Even if your words are false, you can’t know what they mean to me.”

Shazam would not fail a child again.

 


	2. The Granite Block

Shazam rubbed his beard. Perhaps he could form a bit more of a personal connection with the boy. Teth-Adam never got the title Black Adam until his betrayal. But nowadays, masked heroes like Batman and Superman plagued the news, with names different than their birth names. Perhaps this modern marvel could be granted a new title… Captain Marvel?

The walls of the cavernous Rock of Eternity screeched. The magical train the ghost took to find Billy Batson arrived, and although the ghost would dissipate into the ether until needed again, Billy would come through the chamber.

The Wizard summoned a block of granite above his head. Once he transferred his power to Billy, he would be unable to gather the magic necessary to send Billy home, at least not in his corporeal form. The death of whomever sat on the throne at the Rock of Eternity would automatically banish any beings with low enough magic resistance, as an automatic safeguard. And due to his station’s significance in the world of magic, he would regenerate within a few days.

Small footsteps echoed against the walls. Shazam could feel the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man pulling against their restraints as the child passed each of them. The Enemies could feel Billy’s pure soul just as well as the Wizard did at this distance.

“Welcome, Billy Batson,” said the Wizard.

 

Billy shivered. It was warmer in the cavern than back outside, or even in the subway station, but the whole place set his nerves on edge. This was the same way he felt whenever he passed a police officer, or one of the local gang bosses. The only difference this time was that it felt like everything was pressing in on him, rather than looking past him.

He looked up at the old man, “How did you know my name?”

“I know everything. I am **_SHAZAM_** _.”_

Billy’s skin tingled. Lightning danced throughout the cave, striking down and around Shazam. For a moment, everything was lit up. Billy saw a granite block dangling above Shazam’s head, swaying. He wanted to cry out a warning, but his ears rung and he could hear nothing.

When it died down, Shazam gestured towards the wall, silent. There were six names written there, with the words “Wisdom, Strength, Stamina, Power, Courage, Speed” written alongside the names. Billy read the names slowly. He remembered the stories his parents used to tell him, about how Atlas held up the world, Hercules completing his trials, and many more. This got him thinking more about the strange man from before.

Shazam spoke once more, “These are the gods that give the powers to my name. Although the gods have changed over time, and indeed, even my name itself has lost a letter, the great power invested remains the same. What I started 9000 years ago, in the old land of Canaan, can still exist today to battle all forms of evil which threaten man.”

Billy hadn’t heard about Canaan in years, not since his parents got him and Mary an illustrated world history, “You can’t mean you were there in Mesopotamia!”

“You’ve got a good memory,” Shazam chuckled, “I must confess, I did not expect you to remember much of your old history lessons your parents gave you at such a young age.”

Billy paled, “How could you know that?”

“The Historama!” Shazam clapped his hands. One of the rock walls turned to crystal, then lit up the room with an image from Billy’s life.

_Two toddlers, a boy with messy black hair and a girl with long brown hair, sat on the ground. They were both tugging at a stuffed tiger. When the girl ripped the tiger away, the boy began to cry._

_A woman, her face obscured, walked into the room._

_“I wanna play tiger,” bawled the boy._

_“It’s mine!” said the girl, hugging it close._

_The woman bent down to the ground. “Billy, you know that Tawky Tawny belongs to Mary. Why don’t you play with your crocodile?” The woman held out a stuffed crocodile to Billy, who snubbed it._

_“Tell you what, kiddos, how about I tell you another story about Gilgamesh?”_

_“Gillgy!” Mary grinned. Billy pouted, but not long into the tale, became invested._

“Gilgamesh was a piece of work,” muttered Shazam. He looked back at Billy, and refocused, “The Historama shows the past, the present, and the future. And I have looked into your past, Billy Batson, but I think you have the potential for great heroism. All my life I have fought injustice and cruelty, but I am old now. My time is almost up.”

The old man stood up. “You shall be my successor. Merely by speaking my name, you can become the strongest and mightiest man in the world – CAPTAIN MARVEL!”

The man looked at Billy. The child was nervous, but not fearful. Shazam wondered if he had made the right decision, to curse one child to a life of battle in order to protect all life on Earth.

“Speak my name!” shouted Shazam once more.

**_“SHAZAM!”_ **

Lightning struck. Dust kicked up from the floor of the cavern, and when it settled, Captain Marvel saw that the wizard had shrunk, now at eye level. No! Captai Marvel was taller. He wore a red jumpsuit, yellow boots, and a white cape adorned with magic sigils. He was bigger, too. He no longer felt hungry- in fact, he felt a comfortable warmness in his chest, as if a small oven was radiating outwards. However, his heat tingled in his hands.

He could feel the same tingling from when he first entered the cavern, but now he saw that the negative feelings came directly from the monstrous statues- the ones labeled “The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.” He could feel lighter tingling coming from the Wizard- Shazam- as well. He knew that this meant the magic of Shazam was of a nature similar to his own, and that the magic of the Enemies came from a place of evil and destruction in direct opposition. But he wasn’t quite sure how he knew- was this the Wisdom of Solomon?

Even looking at the words on the wall, the sounds came much easier, and he knew far more about these gods than just his mother’s stories.

The wizard smiled underneath his long white beard. “Captain Marvel, I salute you. Henceforth, it shall be your sacred duty to defend the poor and helpless, right wrongs, and crush evil everywhere.”

“Yes, sire.” Billy’s voice was deeper! He used strange words, like “sire.” Billy was always polite, but he never used such archaic language before. Was he still Billy? Shazam called him Captain Marvel, but he remembered Billy.

The Wizard noticed Captain Marvel’s confusion. “To become Billy Batson again, also speak my name. Once you do so, I will depart.”

Captain Marvel nodded. **_“SHAZAM!”_**

With this final shout, the granite block snapped its string, crushing the Wizard beneath. Everything went black for Billy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If we go by order of first appearance, the following heroes will be active at the time of Captain Marvel’s first appearance: Superman, Zatara, Batman, the Sandman, Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett), the Flash (Jay Garrick), Hawkman, and Johnny Thunder. Superman and Zatara were the first, as they both appeared in “Action Comics #1.” However, Superman was better known. This may or may not come up.
> 
> I made up the extra stuff about the granite block because that still confuses me. Much of the dialogue here comes straight from WHIZ Comics #2- there’s not much point in altering it, but I may rewrite some of it later on.
> 
> I’m also going with the earlier ideas in the comics, that Billy and Captain Marvel were separate. However, since Captain Marvel is a new being, his thoughts and Billy’s thoughts are nearly indistinguishable. It will be different with Black Adam- those of you who follow me on tumblr (kl-writes.tumblr.com) already know my interpretation of Teth/Theo in his first appearance, of two souls fighting for dominance (At least initially).


	3. The Radio Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update time! We're finally getting places...

Billy was standing outside the subway station. Did he fall asleep? It all felt strange, he still felt so tingly. Did he really fall asleep outside?

The big Fawcett Clock Tower showed the time as being fifteen minutes to four am. Billy must’ve scared himself awake. It was going to get too busy soon to try and fall asleep in the subway station again, and Billy didn’t want to risk any police officers asking invasive questions.

He walked over towards 3rd street- in about an hour, garbage trucks would be coming around, and Billy wanted to look over the bakeries’ dumpsters before they arrived.

Travelling around before dawn was a process. Billy had to stick to the alleyways, off of the main roads, but he also had to avoid any of the big gangs’ territories. Things on the street had been quiet lately, so at least Billy didn’t have to worry about any shootings at this hour. Still, the safe routes added on an extra 30 minutes to his walk.

But around 5th street, near the WHIZ radio station, Billy started hearing a loud, heated argument. He stopped, and peaked around the corner.

A frail, older man was shouting at a group of three out-of-town thugs. They were carrying some sort of odd equipment. Billy wasn’t sure if the old man was being robbed or not- the man wasn’t much taller than Billy, yet he continued to yell at and provoke the thugs.

After a few minutes, they finished attaching the device to the back wall of the radio station. The older man pulled out a large remote control. He pressed a button, and the device disappeared.

“Holy moley!” Billy clapped his hands over his mouth.

“What was that?!” screeched the old man. “We’re being watched- find whoever that is and take care of him!”

Billy sprinted away. He had no idea if this was some sort of Nazi sabotage, but he had to tell someone. Nobody was around, and after a few blocks, the thugs spotted him. They were a lot faster than Billy.

“If only Superman were here,” moaned Billy. He rounded a corner, and hid behind a dumpster. It wouldn’t take long for the thugs to find him. “Or the Bat-man. Or even **_SHAZAM!”_**

Lightning crackled through the clear night skies. A powerful bolt struck Billy, and he became Captain Marvel. This was no dream- Captain Marvel knew that the word of power that called him into being was genuine magic.

Captain Marvel looked at his hands and arms in awe, seeing how his size had doubled. When the thugs rounded the corner, they spotted the champion. They stopped, unsure, then one of them pulled out a knife.

“Listen, wise guy,” said the thug, “Howsabout you tell us where the kid ran, and we don’t cut you up?”

Captain Marvel grinned. The knife was only steel, after all, “You’re trying to attack a child, gentlemen? How about you guys put down your weapons, and I’ll take you to the police station without a big fuss.”

“Oh! Oh! We got ourselves a clown here.”

“Yeah,” said one of the other thugs, “He’s even got his circus costume.”

The thugs chuckled. The one with the knife approached Captain Marvel, and put the blade up to the hero’s neck. Captain Marvel didn’t move.

“Okay, guy, maybe you’ve got nerves of steel. But you don’t have skin of steel- so this is your last chance. Where did the kid go?”

Captain Marvel smirked.

The thug sliced Captain Marvel’s neck, but nothing happened. The other thugs stopped laughing.

“What? Who are you?!”

Captain Marvel grabbed the three thugs in his arms, then leapt into the air. He soared a few hundred feet above the highest buildings in Fawcett.

The thugs began to scream.

“I did warn you guys,” said Captain Marvel, “Let’s drop you off at the police station, and go find your boss.”

Captain Marvel brought the three men into the police station, “Officer, I found these men attacking a child on the streets.”

The desk sergeant on duty looked up from his pile of paperwork, and glared at the hero.

“Listen lightning-man,” said the sergeant.

“Captain Marvel.”

“Fawcett’s an honest town. I don’t want you to thinking you can come in here and enforce your own brand of vigilante justice. This isn’t Keystone, this isn’t Metropolis, and it certainly isn’t Gotham. How do I even know these men attacked a child? Can you even produce a witness?”

“Er…” Captain Marvel scratched at his chin. Even the Wisdom of Solomon couldn’t find an answer for all problems. “Oh! How about I just leave them here, and then I’ll come back with a witness- one who’s sure to know everything!”

“I can’t hold them here without a warrant!”

“Is that all?” Captain Marvel took them outside, at the protest of the desk sergeant. The policeman ran after him. The hero bent a lightpole, and wrapped it around the trio of thugs, “That should hold them.”

“I- that’s not what I meant! What about the legal ramifications? What am I supposed to tell the DA? They could sue!”

Captain Marvel soared off. He went back to WHIZ radio station. Although he was able to find the spot where the men had installed the strange device, it was nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, the old man from before wasn’t around, either.

However, Captain Marvel soon had other problems. A beat cop was chatting on the radio down the street, and spotted Captain Marvel. He shouted at the hero, and started walking towards him.

Captain Marvel was going to have a hard time investigating anyone if the police started following him around. People, Billy included, usually clammed up whenever an officer was nearby. The hero soared off once more, landing in an alley a few blocks away.

Captain Marvel checked to make sure nobody was around. **_“SHAZAM!”_**

Billy Batson made his way to WHIZ radio station, careful to smile and wave at the growing number of police officers in the area. Lucky for him, WHIZ started its morning show around five, so Billy was able to slip in with the crowd of early-morning crew.

Billy recognized the radio head, president Sterling Morris, in the lobby speaking with the early-morning talk show host.

“Mr. Morris, I’m just concerned about how the viewers will take it. Even if we don’t talk about the threats, I know a lot of the other stations are going to find out about them, especially now that Muscles has gone missing.”

Billy edged closer to the conversation.

“Mr. McGinnis isn’t a pushover for some mugging,” Mr. Morris nodded, “He’s also the best at digging up the dirt in this business. Listen, Mr. Jackson, maybe we should break the story ourselves.”

“What?! That could cause a panic!”

“We’ll start it off with a basic missing person’s report- maybe he did get on the bad side of the gangs. Printwhistle’s had it out for him ever since he broke the story on that protection racket back in May. But he won’t want the heat from a whole city looking for the man.”

Jackson nodded, rubbing his beard. “And if they did ice Muscles, he’d go out busting “Stinky” for murder.”

“Didn’t I just say it? Mr. McGinnis is tough. We’ll get our man back.”

Billy frowned. Those thugs from before wouldn’t be part of the Printwhistle gang- “Stinky” was as paranoid as they came, he’d never trust anyone new in town.

“Boy! How’d you get in here?” Morris and Jackson stared down at Billy, shocking him out of his thoughts.

“Oh! Mr. Morris! I saw some thugs outside. But I don’t think they were Stinky’s thugs or anything-”

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you it was rude to eavesdrop?” drawled Jackson.

“Well, I, um,” Billy fidgeted. The men stared at Billy. “I saw them- the thugs- put some sort of weird device on the outside of the building.

Mr. Morris’ eyes widened. “We need to evacuate. Kid, that was a bomb.”

“I don’t think so,” Billy shook his head, “Because when their boss- this short old guy- pushed a button, it disappeared.”

“So we won’t find it when we look,” said Jackson.

“Well, no.”

Mr. Morris suddenly smiled. He picked up a newspaper from the lobby counter, and showed it to Billy, “Did the man look like this?”

The article title read: “Sivana-Morris Merger Falls Apart- Radio head Sterling Morris Complains of Unethical Business Practices.” On it was a picture of the man from before.

“That’s him!” shouted Billy.

Mr. Morris chuckled, “Kid, you’ve got an imaginative mind. I’m not going to ask you to stop reading sensational articles like this, but you need to make sure to keep real life and the imagination separate.”

“But I really did see him!”

Jackson snorted, “Sivana might have shouted about constructing a device to ‘end all radio forever,’ but he’s been kicked out of almost every university he’s tried to research at. We’re more concerned about these anonymous bomb threats coming in.”

“Couldn’t those be from him?”

Mr. Morris frowned, “Maybe. But Dr. Sivana is still a respected businessman in this city. We can’t just go around accusing him of bomb threats without any evidence. And he definitely wouldn’t set up anything like that himself- he’s getting on in his years, you know. Even I’m starting to-“

Mr. Morris stopped himself, “Hold on a second, kid. I haven’t seen you around here before. Who are your parents?”

“I haven’t seen this boy either,” said Jackson, “I don’t think he’s one of the crew’s kids.”

“He certainly isn’t yours, either,” Mr. Morris laughed, “All three of your pack take after their father.”

“He could be lost. Maybe we should call the police…”

Billy crept outside. It seemed like everyone needed the same man, but nobody was able to get at him.

He didn’t want to plagiarize Lois Lane, but this was a job for Captain Marvel.

 

 


	4. The Skyscraper

Billy stopped a few blocks away from the Sivana Skyscraper. He didn’t want to risk anyone seeing Billy Batson, just in case Sivana was able to get a good look at him. Billy was already messing up on this superhero thing.

**_“SHAZAM!”_ **

Although it was still dark out, Captain Marvel needed to be quick. Careful to stay out of sight of any of the building’s windows, he glided around the skyscraper, listening and looking for any evidence of people working. Sivana’s company was primarily electronics research, so unlike WHIZ, there shouldn’t be anyone in yet.

Fortunately, once he got to the penthouse, he heard voices inside.

“Everything’s set, boss,” said a man with a deep voice. Captain Marvel wasn’t sure why, but it made Billy feel uneasy. “We never heard back from Francis, Jack, or Tommie. My contact at the police station said some freak in red dropped the trio off, and bent a streetlight around that.”

“What?” screeched Dr. Sivana. “I’ve heard of that Superman freak, from Metropolis. Red, you say? This could be complicated.”

“You don’t need to worry. We’re locked up tight here- someone would have to make it through all 50 stories of locks and doors to make it here. Even that Metropolis freak can’t fly- and I doubt he can break all those security doors in time to get up here.”

“It better be fine, Adam. I’m relying on you for this- all you have to do is push the button-“

“I know, boss.”

“-exactly at 6 am. The electromechanical waves will wipe out the radio station, and much of the nearby electronics. Morris will have a hard time turning away my merger, scratch that, my takeover when I’m the only one with functioning electronics in town! Ha!”

Captain Marvel had heard enough. He busted through the window. He saw a group of ten thugs in the room. The one he had heard before, Adam, was looking at a television screen- one with Dr. Sivana on it. This thug stood up, and stared down the world’s mightiest mortal. This thug was about the same size as Captain Marvel.

“C. C.?” Adam’s eyes widened, and he gaped. “You’re dead!”

“It’s Captain Marvel, actually.” Captain Marvel frowned. C. C. was his father. “How do you know my da- C. C. Batson?”

The other mooks took Adam’s surprise as an order, and charged Captain Marvel. The hero backhanded two of them into a wall. As the next group charged, Captain Marvel grabbed hold of one of them, and used him as a weapon to smack down a few more thugs. This thug’s arm broke from the impact, and Billy winced.

The rest tried to come at him with knives, which Marvel easily broke, “It’s not safe to run with blades, you know.”

Dr. Sivana groaned, “Do you really need to lay on the cheese?”

Adam growled, and tackled Captain Marvel. However, it achieved nothing, and Marvel easily smacked him down. Unfortunately, this left him unconscious, and unable to be interrogated.

Captain Marvel looked around the room, and found a large computer, taking up the entire top floor. Sivana’s company was well known for working with the government on large defense projects, but this was beyond anything Captain Marvel had heard of. One terminal, near the television screen, was feeding out a piece of paper, with many numbers on it, but Captain Marvel recognized one of them as WHIZ radio’s frequency!

Captain Marvel quickly got to work, smashing through the entire floor.

“You’ll pay for this!” screeched Dr. Sivana, “We will meet again, Captain Marvel!”

“You can count on it,” said Captain Marvel, “And when we do, you’ll be behind prison walls- or dead!” Captain Marvel smashed the television screen, cutting off Dr. Sivana’s feed.

Billy Batson would need to call Mr. Morris and the police down to the Sivana Skyscraper, but first, he had one last thing to smash.

 

Sterling Morris stepped over the dented metal door with unease. He had heard a lot from his friends at the Daily Planet about these new “superheroes,” but never expected Fawcett to get their own.

“You said your friend, Captain Marvel told you about this?” asked the radio head.

“Yeah!” said the young kid, Billy. “He told me that Dr. Sivana was the one who set up the device. And the proof his here!”

The duo entered the penthouse, where the computer lay smashed.

“That’s the computer the Navy was using!” shouted Mr. Morris, “Er, keep this between us, kid. We did a story not too long ago about the future of computers, and there were a few things I had to keep quiet about. That’s an experimental computer- its description was not to be aired, never mind its blueprints. Dr. Sivana must have violated his non-disclosure agreement with the government. Did you already call the police?”

“Oh!” said Billy, “I wanted you to do it, since they’d believe you, but I can-“

“No, son, it’s probably for the best. I better call up my man in Washington. If the government gets involved, they’ll keep us quiet about the computer, but will implicate Dr. Sivana in his crime in order to draw away suspicion.” Mr. Morris cracked his knuckles with glee, “You want a job, son?”

“What?”

“Just an after-school job. I don’t want to interfere with your education. Our radio station can pay well for kids who can keep their ear to the street. In fact, if your parents are okay with it, I’d like to set you up with an after-school kids program.”

“Only if I get to talk about real stuff.”

“Done. How about you come by with your parents after school today?”

Billy hesitated, “Er, I’ve got a doctor’s appointment.”

Mr. Morris stared him down, “Tomorrow, then?”

“How about- just my uncle comes tonight! My parents passed away when I was little, so-”

“Sorry, Billy, I didn’t know.”

“It’s alright.”

Mr. Morris frowned, then sighed. He smiled at Billy, “Yes, that would work.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Or Dead!" quote comes directly from the comics.
> 
> Although most electronic computers wouldn't appear until the 1940's, there were still several computers of interest near the end of the 30's:
> 
> The Z1 (https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/z/z1.htm) was developed in Germany by Konrad Zuse, and was the first "freely programmable" computer. It could read in instructions via punched tape.
> 
> The Torpedo Data Computer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo_Data_Computer), which I base Sivana's computer off of somewhat, was developed by the Navy as a computer that could fit inside a submarine. Sivana's computer, unlike the TDC, was much larger, and capable of more advanced operations. This is where the 'sci-fi' part of comics comes in. Sivana's TDC is capable of activating an early version of an EMP from a distance, as well as transmitting live video and audio for a conference. His machine likely did accounting for the business as well- one of the primary uses of early computers outside of research and defense. The ENIAC, a more general-purpose computer, wouldn't appear until 1943, but if we stretch the limit's of comics' first mad scientist, then Dr. Sivana coming up with his own version isn't too hard to believe.


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